If history has taught us anything, it’s that young people will always lead the way. Whether it’s the young African-American activists marching in the streets to insist that black lives do matter or the students who hit the streets on #NationalWalkoutDay to demand changes to gun laws that will keep their schools safe,…

For over 25 years, Anna Deavere Smith has been observing us.

Here comes New York Fashion Week, again. Everything is about to change—or so it seems—as designers present fashion shows featuring clothes generally intended to break the rules. But one thing rarely, if ever, seems to change, and that’s the absence of black designers occupying top spots in the fashion industry.

With everything—and everyone—we lost in this past year, there were some big wins. Black women showed up and showed out in various ways. Black men put their careers and livelihoods on the line to speak out against racial injustice, police violence, and sexual assault and harassment. Creative artists experienced amazing…